Web applications and websites are the cruces of the internet. Without these what will be the World Wide Web??? And if you possess this awesome skill of creating magic on the internet you can make your pockets real big.
In this article, I am going to ride you through some ways by which you can monetize your skill and make money as a web developer.
Web Developer Job
You can be a web developer in a company and manage their applications. And you may get paid for your job as per your company policy. This is the most basic way in which you can make money. I am sure you also know this or you may be already working in a company as a web developer
Creating web applications and websites is not specific to a particular company. This is something that everybody needs at this point.
If you are thinking that “I haven’t come here for this. Tell me something I don’t know”. Don’t worry we’ll dive into it right now.
So, as I was telling you, anything and everything you find on the internet is the work of a web developer. So your skill is high in demand. Then, why not monetize it on your terms. Why not freelance your service??
Freelance Web Development
Be your boss and work in the comfort of your home or anywhere else as you wish. Provide your service to the people who need it. You can charge money for your work on your terms. That means you can:
- Charge per project,
- Charge per hour,
- Or even per day.
It doesn’t matter if you have a full-time job. You can still do part-time freelancing and earn some extra bucks. And if you get your freelance game on point, you can earn a lot as a freelance web developer.
Now,
THE QUESTIONS THAT EVERYBODY ASKS.
“How can I be a freelancer?”
“How will I get clients who need my service?”
“How to attract inbound clients?”
Here we go…
Build A Portfolio Website
The portfolio website showcases the gist of your work to your prospects. As a web developer, this might be very easy for you. This is also a chance for you to show your prospects your web developing skills.
A basic portfolio website should answer the following:
- Who are you?
- What do you do/ what is the service that you offer?
- Why are you a good fit?
- Sample work (at least 4)
- Client testimonials (if any)
Your portfolio website is the first thing that your prospect sees. So, make the first impression, the best impression.
Now that you are ready with your portfolio. The next step is looking out for clients.
There are hundreds of million people around the globe. Unless and until you are not already popular no one is going to come to you. If you are providing a service, it is your responsibility to market yourself and let everybody know that you offer this service.
How will you do that?
Create An Online Presence
Instagram/Facebook
Create an Instagram Business page and post consistently. Target the right audience and attract them to your page. Link the same to a Facebook page so that you can post simultaneously the same content on both platforms.
Engage with fellow developers. Comment on their post. Appreciate their work if you like it. This way you can build up a community of fellow developers and you will also reach your target audience faster. Make good use of the bio section of Instagram. It should showcase what service you provide and finally a CTA to your portfolio link.
PS: You cannot grow in 1 day on these platforms. Consistency and patience are the keys.
LinkedIn is a professional platform wherein you can connect with your fellow developers and potential clients. Check your LinkedIn profile score in Resume Worded and make it better according to its suggestions. This will make your profile stand out.
You can try out other social media platforms too but I suggest these two because it works well for all people.
Job Groups
You may join various Web developer groups. On Facebook, if you search with ‘web developer jobs’ you’ll get a lot of group recommendations. Join some groups and you may see that there will be a lot of job postings each day. You can reach out to those people and convert them to your clients. You can also engage with the people there and resolve your queries with the developers who also freelance their work as you do.
Similarly, you may also find job groups on other social media platforms as well.
Freelance Websites
There are a variety of websites like Freelancer, Upwork, People per hour, Fiverr, etc which will help you earn good money but I won’t recommend these sites for the people who are just starting. Because there is a lot of competition on these websites and most experienced freelancers are preferred. Hence, I suggest that you first do some projects outside, gain some points, and then enter into these sites.
If you want to get clients quickly, you can try doing freelance teaching. Teach web development to beginners and I’m sure that there’s a huge market for that. You can make use of platforms like Wyzant, TakeLessons, TeacherOn, etc., to get clients. Getting clients on these platforms is comparatively easy. So give it a try!
Getting Your First Client
Getting that first client is the most difficult part of freelancing. Sometimes, it may take several months to land your preferred client. This is because when you are just starting you may have the expertise but not the experience.
And a Client usually looks for your experience to know if you can professionally deliver their work. For this, you may need social proof to convince your clients. These are testimonials from people who have worked with you in the past.
Now, if you haven’t worked with other clients how will you have these testimonials?
Simple, ask your friends, relatives, or any stranger who runs a business and needs a good or better website and deliver your service. They can recommend you and give you testimonials for your initial phase.
Provide your service at a discounted rate at first so that you can attract more clients to you. But, never provide your service for free. You put a lot of effort and time into this. So, your price should be aligned accordingly.
After you get a good client and you are able to deliver an excellent service to them, ask them to recommend you to their friends or business partners if needed. In this way, you can spread the word and land more and more clients.
Web development projects are usually high-paying, hence, do not forget to sign a contract with your client stating all the terms and conditions. This will bring more clarity and avoid any fraudulent activity in the project in the future. This will also ensure that you are doing exactly the work you have agreed upon not more, not less.
Always ask for feedback from your clients. You will encounter various people during your freelance journey. Clients may or may not like your work all the time. Do not take that personally or it may hamper your peace of mind and ruin your other work as well. Rather take those criticisms constructively and improve upon your work.
Other Sources To Earn Money
Apart from earning money as a freelancer from various projects from your clients, you can also earn from the following sources:-
Affiliate Marketing
Join affiliate programs of various vendors you use for web development and earn money for your referrals. You may use your social media platforms or blog/website to share these affiliate links.
This can be best used by signing up in any affiliate account of GoDaddy, Bluehost, Hostinger, A2hosting, etc., and make your client sign up to these sites using your affiliate link. You can earn a very good amount in commission.
Online Courses
You can create online courses and tutorials on web development and put them on your blog or YouTube channel. You can even make courses for various online course platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, etc. But making a good web development course isn’t enough. You need to market it and reach the right audience. If you can do that, then this will be a great source of passive income.
Advertisements
Build a website and start writing blogs on web development, web designing, and similar topics. Add Google ads to these articles and earn money. Earning this depends on the traffic that comes to your article. So, remember to ace your SEO skills too.
Templates
Templates are very much in demand if somebody is trying to build up a website themselves. You can create templates for various forms or sections for the website and sell them the same. The various templates that you see while building up a website on WordPress, Wix, etc., are created by various web developers.
Final Thoughts
There may be many more ways in which you can make money as a web developer. Please comment down below about something you know that I have missed out on.
In the end, I just want to tell you that it’s all in our money mindset. There is plenty of ways to make money online. We just have to tap the right resource to find that out. Monetize your skill because you are worthy of it.
